BORO face an expensive bidding war with Premier League rivals Aston Villa for Newcastle midfielder James Milner.

The Birmingham club are on the verge of firming up their interest in the Leeds-born 22-year-old by tabling a £7m offer.

Newcastle are keen to reduce their wage bill and while Milner is behind the club’s top earners in terms of salary, he nonetheless signed a lucrative contract extension last year that ties him to the club until 2011.

With three years left on Milner’s contract, United are looking for £10m for the former England Under-21 international.

Gareth Southgate wants to strengthen his midfield and has yet to discover if Gary O’Neil has resolved the homesickness issues that have left his Boro future up in the air. Milner has done well for Newcastle on the right flank but Southgate would be reluctant to pay such an inflated fee for him.

TWO of Boro’s brightest young stars were part of the England squad which qualified for this summer's UEFA European Under-19 Championships with a 0-0 draw against Belarus in Minsk.

Goalkeeper Jason Steele and midfielder Josh Walker will both hope to be involved in the tournament in which England were drawn against Czech Republic, Italy and Greece in Group B.